Rosemary Cuttings: [Concept, Season, Rooting and Planting]

What does it mean to plant by cuttings?

Planting by cuttings is a technique, well known since ancient times, to obtain a new plant through a stake, a piece or portion of a mother plant.

To carry out this method, the environmental conditions and necessary resources that allow the reproduction of the new specimen must be available.

The cutting or part of the plant must be a fragment that contains buds and a good consistency in such a way that it can pass all its nutrients to the new plant.

There are many types of cuttings: Herbaceous, obtained from non-woody, softwood plants, fragments of new shoots cut from woody evergreens; semi-hardwood, hardwood; foliar and root.

In the case of rosemary, it is stated that reproduction by means of cuttings is a very simple, fast and preferred method for horticultural enthusiasts.

What is the best time to plant rosemary cuttings?

Planting rosemary through cuttings is very effective and can be done during the fall and winter.The reproduction of rosemary, through cuttings, can be done at any time of the year, due to climate controls, facilities, equipment, substrates and products for better rooting.

How to get rosemary cuttings to root correctly?

Most horticulturists recommend the use of organic-type rooting agents for the multiplication of rosemary.Using good rooters ensures that the rosemary cutting gets the nutrients it needs.

Among the recommended rooting agents are the organic ones based on lentils or willow, which are very effective for rosemary cuttings.

To guarantee the rooting of rosemary, it must be subjected to a process of immersion in organic rooting agent for 12 hours, and then placed in water for a week and repeated for at least 3 weeks.

How should we take the rosemary cuttings to plant them?

For the reproduction of rosemary by cuttings, it is recommended to cut a branch of a healthy and robust plant, with clean and disinfected scissors.

The cutting must be semi-woody, from a mother plant that is at least two years old; with a length of 15 to 20 centimeters long, no more than that measure so that it does not cost it to take root.

It is recommended that the cutting be cut diagonally at the tip and horizontally at the bottom, without breaking any knots or buds.

How long should we leave rosemary cuttings in water?

Once the cutting has been immersed in the rooting agent for 12 hours, it is recommended to place it in a glass of water, near a window and in an area that is not too cold.

It will remain there for several weeks and if, during the process, evaporation of the water from the glass containing the rosemary cuttings is observed, warm water should be added.

You can take note of how the process is going, because the cutting placed in the water will begin to take out new shoots that force it to look up.

By the third week, it will be possible to notice that the roots of the rosemary cutting are forming, as well as new branches, and the planting will proceed in the first phase.

Is it convenient to use fertilizer or compost?

In the multiplication of rosemary by cuttings, it is essential to use fertilizer or compost that generates a substrate with the capacity to retain and circulate water, oxygen and nutrients.

Evaluations of students and researchers resulted in highly significant differences in the sowing of rosemary cuttings through special physicochemical conditions of the substrates and rooters.

A good substrate can guarantee the development of the rosemary cutting in the variables: length, number of roots and the percentage of taking.For planting rosemary cuttings, you can use a mixture of substrate with earthworm humus, which can be made at home or can be purchased at specialized stores.

It is recommended that the proportion be 20-30% earthworm humus and the rest of the substrate, the rosemary cutting will not need anything else.It is important to moisten the substrate before planting the rosemary cuttings to facilitate the planting process.

The cuttings must be buried very carefully so as not to damage the new roots and at a depth of about 7 cm and then be imprisoned on the sides.

How long does it usually take for a rosemary cutting to come out?

The time required for a rosemary cutting to reproduce will depend on weather conditions, rooting hormones and the substrate where the plant is planted.

Once the rosemary cuttings are planted, they will be exposed to the open air, maintaining the humidity of the substrate and it is expected that two or three months after planting they will begin to generate new roots.

To plant the rosemary cutting, once it has rooted, you can use a container with a depth of between 20 or 15 centimeters, depending on the size of the germinated cutting.

Finally, and to achieve the greenhouse effect, the already planted cutting can be covered with a bag to offer better conditions for its development.

Bibliography and references

Bent Ana. (2019). Great Book of Indoor Gardening. First edition. Servilibro Editions, SA Madrid-Spain. PP 43-47.

digital database

Houses, Viviana. Evaluation of the taking of rosemary cuttings (Rosmarinus officinalis) under three substrates. Reproduced from: https://repositorio.umsa.bo/handle/123456789/13273
Ecured.com. Cutting. Reproduced from: https://www.ecured.cu/Esqueje
López D, and Carazo N. The production of cuttings. Reproduced from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28280218_La_produccion_de_esquejes
A simple trick to grow plants by cuttings. Reproduced from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfHWU_y_gX8

On our page you can learn more about the reproduction by cuttings of some plants and trees: